The Olympians - CM Performing Arts Center | 4.12.24 & 4.13.24

CM Performing Arts Center recently produced the world premiere of the brand new musical “The Olympians” through an exclusive agreement with Theatrical Rights Worldwide. The story takes place in Ancient Greece where three Greek Goddesses are looking for a new heroine to inspire women across the world; each goddess selects one woman based on the values they hold closest and send them on a quest to determine the mighty-est of all - while backed by a score featuring hits ranging from Hall & Oates to Kelly Clarkson, to Blondie and Miley Cyrus.

On the surface, this sounds like your typical light-fare jukebox musical that just serves as a vehicle for the music in the show…but it’s actually more than that! “The Olympians” boasts some rather strong musical arrangements that are beyond memorable. I don’t know who deserves more credit - the arrangers or the performers in this particular production - but I’ve got lots of love for both. The story was definitely silly, but on more than one occasion I laughed out loud and/or cheered so it was definitely more than bookending the music.

Full Cast | Photo Credit: Lisa Schindlar

The three Greek Goddesses were played by Sarah Klaum (who played Artemis), Christina D’Orta Muens (Athena) and Emily Gates (Aphrodite). Aside from their obvious beauty, these three moved through the show with hilarity and grace. They played to their goddesses' themes with Artemis standing for strength and physical prowess, Athena representing mental strength and logic, and Aphrodite for their kindness of heart. Each one of them shined vocally on their respective songs, but knocked it out of the park with “Wide Open Spaces.” Their voices blended amazingly with each other and their harmonies were perfect. 

Rounding out the rest of the gods were Sarah Minto as Thalia and Hans Paul Hendrickson as Apollo. Minto is a CM veteran, appearing in countless productions at the theater; but this may be one of my favorite performances from her. Thalia essentially operates as the Narrator who (spoiler alert, but not really) at one point even gets pulled into the story - much like the Narrator in Into the Woods - and Minto tackled each scene and challenge like a true pro. Her comic timing was spot on and skills in improvisation were top notch. She was in tune to every laugh coming from the audience (and believe me, with her in this role there were many!) and excellently played to each moment. I can’t say enough good things about her performance in this show! It is always a pleasure to see Hendrickson on stage as well, with his number “Walking on Sunshine” being a clear standout. He moved through this number with skill and confidence and his joy on stage was so infectious that you wanted to sing along with him and be part of it. Additionally, a *very* special mention to Ronald R. Green III’s costume for Hendrickson as the surprise sunshine that was built into it was beautiful!

I realize this comment makes very little sense if you can’t *see* what I’m talking about. You just had to be there! But if you don’t get it, shame on you because you should have been. This show was worth it!

Anyhoo - let’s discuss The Mortals, starting with the ones chosen by the goddesses to go on this quest to find said hero. There’s so much to say! Leah Cyran (who played Sophia) grabbed my heart first with her rendition of “Breakaway” originally from Kelly Clarkson. Aside from this being one of Kelly’s iconic numbers, Cyran’s vocals on this song took it to a different level. I grew up with this song and never imagined getting to hear it on a theater stage and I couldn’t be happier that she was the one singing it. I had equal amounts of excitement from the performances from Isabella Cannone and Kayla Murray, who played Zoe and Alexis respectively. I was beyond impressed by these three. They gave us some of the strongest vocal performances I have seen in some time on Long Island and I can’t wait to see and support them more! Every time they went to sing I sat with my mouth wide open because I couldn’t believe such big voices were coming out of such little people! And once again, the comedic timing between them all was superb. Everyone fully understood each joke and they all landed which complemented the vocals perfectly.

Isabella Cannone, Leah Cyran, Daniel Rubinson, Kayla Murray, Sarah Minto, Emily Gates, Christina D'Orta Muens, Sarah Klaum

Photo Credit: Lisa Schindlar

It wasn’t just the females that showed up and showed out in this production, however!

The Mortal Men (sounds like something derived from Mortal Kombat…and for that reason alone I’m leaving it in) were played by Daniel Rubinson (who played Xander) and Michael Krulder (Orpheus). I recently saw Krulder in CM’s production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and thoroughly enjoyed him and that did not end here. His smooth-like-butter vocals were featured in “Time in a Bottle” and he absolutely knocked it out of the park. Welcome to CM, Michael! Please stay. As for Rubinson - my amazement with big voices from little people continued with him shining the brightest on “Bad Day”. As all of these mortals belted out these amazing arrangements of these familiar songs, my friends and I kept looking at each other asking “where did these people come from?!” - and I hope *everyone* stays a while.

Daniel Rubinson & Michael Krulder | Photo Credit: Lisa Schindlar

A great deal of credit needs to also be given to Music Director Matthew W. Surico who not only directed the music, but led a live band this time around as well.

Surico is known for producing strong group vocals with fully fleshed out harmonies and this production was no exception. Hearing live music is always a treat and having that alongside his leadership brings everything to another level. The show was directed by Alyse Nicole Arpino and she deserves quite a bit of credit as well for clearly understanding the dynamics of the show - exactly what should be delivered as humor and what should be slightly more dramatic - which I feel is no small feat when dealing with a jukebox musical. too often the material is treated either completely as a joke or far too seriously; however Arpino managed to toe the line between the two and hit the nail on the head.

All in all, The Olympians is a hoot through and through. The songs included in the musical are quite enjoyable and nostalgic, leaving something for everyone with family-friendly humor.

I found myself laughing at every turn, leaning forward out of sheer interest and concern for the mortals on the quest, and singing along to songs I am borderline sad to admit I grew up with. (We’re getting up there in age, ya’ll!) Congratulations to everyone involved for producing a brand new musical and absolutely crushing it. 

To Theatrical Rights Worldwide: what musical does CM get to produce next?! 

*Wink wink*

Cast:

The Gods

Artemis - Sarah Klaum

Apollo - Hans Paul Hendrickson

Athena - Christina D’Orta Muens

Aphrodite - Emily Gates

Thalia - Sarah Minto

The Mortals

Sophia - Leah Cyran

Zoe - Isabella Cannone

Alexis “Lexi” - Kayla Murray

Xander - Daniel Rubinson

Orpheus - Michael Krulder

The Greek Chorus

Cameron Angelo, Olivia Cartagena, Dennis Creighton, Robert De Persio, Ellen Dumlao, Kristi Kahen, AJ Lawrence, Isabella morris, Katie Oterson, Kevin Todd

The Olympians Band:

Bass - rob Curry

Drums - Rayaz Khan

Guitar 1 - Luke Miller

Guitar 2 - Ryan Levenberg

Keyboard - Matthew W. Surico

Creative Team:

DIRECTOR - Alyse Nicole Arpino

Music Director - Matthew W. Surico

Stage Manager - Will Brennan

Choreographer - Deanna Feldmann

Sound Designer - Evan Lettieri

Scenic Designer - john Mazzarella

Lighting Designer - Brandon Latargia

COSTUME & WIG DESIGN - RONALD GREEN III